Wildfowl (also
Waterfowl and
Waterbird) is the collective term for 147
species of
duck,
goose and
swan (
Anseriformes), kept on
wetland, not for hunting and consumption by humans, but for ornamental purposes.
There are a number of subdivisions, e.g. ducks can be subdivided into perching ducks (e.g. teal) and diving ducks (e.g. pochard).
Fowl reared for hunting is usually referred to as waterfowl. Fowl that are not commonly hunted are commonly referred to as waterbirds. That term also includes wading birds, such as stork, whereas the term waterfowl is usually restricted to swimming birds.
In practice, these terms distinguish human activity, not species of birds: a variety raised as ornamental in one place may be hunted in another.
See also:
Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust,
Wildfowl Trust of America[?],
British Waterfowl Association[?]
Places to see wildfowl in the United Kingdom
- Bentley Wildfowl & Motor Museum[?], East Sussex
- Claythorpe Watermill and Wildfowl Gardens[?]
- Lackford Wildfowl Reserve[?], Suffolk Wildlife Trust[?]
- WWT Arundel, West Sussex
- WWT Caerlaverock, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland
- WWT Castle Espie, Northern Ireland
- WWT London Wetlands Centre
- WWT Martin Mere, Lancashire
- WWT National Wetlands Centre, Wales
- WWT Slimbridge, Gloucestershire
- WWT Washington, Tyne and Wear
- WWT Welney, Cambridgeshire
Places to see wildfowl in the United States
All Wikipedia text
is available under the
terms of the GNU Free Documentation License